editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Petra Mayer is an editor (and the resident nerd) at NPR Books, focusing on genre fiction. She brings to the job passion, speed-reading skills, and a truly impressive collection of Doctor Who doodads. You can also hear her on the air, and on the occasional episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour.Previously, she was an associate producer and director for All Things Considered on the weekends. She handled all of the show's books coverage, and she was also the person to ask if you wanted to know how much snow falls outside NPR's Washington headquarters on a Saturday, how to belly dance, or what pro wrestling looks like up close and personal.Mayer originally came to NPR as an engineering assistant in 1994, while still attending Amherst College. After three years spending summers honing her soldering skills in the maintenance shop, she made the jump to Boston's WBUR as a newswriter in 1997. Mayer returned to NPR in 2000 after a roundabout journey that included a master's degree in journalism fromNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Petra MayerMon, 19 Sep 2016 02:20:16 +0000Petra Mayerhttp://wuot.org
Petra MayerI was in New York for the weekend, visiting a friend who lives on West 27th Street. We'd been in at an event in Brooklyn; in the cab home, the radio had been saying something about an explosion in Chelsea, on 23rd Street between 6th and 7th — four blocks from her home.The part of my brain that always wants to believe nothing's wrong said, "Oh, it's a gas leak. A transformer explosion. It'll mess up the traffic but we'll be home in an hour." I think everyone has that voice in their head, to some extent. But this time, something was wrong: The radio kept talking, something about an IED in a dumpster, dozens of people wounded.The cab dropped us off at 29th and 6th. We couldn't get any closer because everything was blocked off. We could see the flashing lights of police cars and ambulances four blocks down, and we jaywalked with magnificent impunity across 6th Avenue because, hey, what was going to hit us?Around us were people out walking on a warm fall night. The vibe wasn't so bad, weOne Blast Injured Dozens In Chelsea. I Saw A 2nd Device Before It Explodedhttp://wuot.org/post/npr-editor-found-unexploded-bomb-manhattan
52787 as http://wuot.orgSun, 18 Sep 2016 21:21:00 +0000One Blast Injured Dozens In Chelsea. I Saw A 2nd Device Before It ExplodedPetra MayerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit HU, HOST: It was literally a dark and stormy night here in Washington, D.C., last night, an appropriate backdrop for the crowds of eager readers in wizard robes. They packed a local bookstore for something no one thought would ever happen again, a midnight "Harry Potter" book release party. NPR's Petra Mayer, who doesn't like to admit she's probably a Hufflepuff, was there. PETRA MAYER, BYLINE: There are a lot of people in costumes here tonight, but Erica Murray stands out. ERICA MURRAY: I am dressed up as (imitating British accent) Moaning Myrtle. MAYER: She's the ghost who haunts a Hogwarts bathroom, so Erica is sporting a toilet seat around her neck. MURRAY: So I have a toilet over my head to dress up as her (laughter). It's kind of uncomfortable, but it makes the outfit. MAYER: It's almost midnight. Erica and her fellow "Harry Potter" fans are crammed into D.C.'s Kramer Books, packing the aisles and lining up out the door, all waiting for theMidnight Release Party Summons Muggles For Eighth Harry Potter Installmenthttp://wuot.org/post/midnight-release-party-summons-muggles-eighth-harry-potter-installment
50976 as http://wuot.orgSun, 31 Jul 2016 13:06:00 +0000Midnight Release Party Summons Muggles For Eighth Harry Potter InstallmentPetra MayerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Beatrix Potter is famous for her charming tales of mice and rabbits, most notably Peter Rabbit, who was given this piece of sage advice.(SOUNDBITE OF AUDIOBOOK, "THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT")UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Now, my dears, you may go into the fields.UNIDENTIFIED BOY: (Humming).UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden.CORNISH: Readers will see Peter again soon, though older and hopefully wiser. He plays a big part in "The Tale Of Kitty-In-Boots." It's a mostly forgotten story that's getting a new life this fall. NPR's Petra Mayer has the story.PETRA MAYER, BYLINE: Beatrix Potter was always a little creepier than you remember. Peter, after all, wasn't supposed to go into Mr. McGregor's garden because Mr. McGregor had eaten his father. But still, her stories are favorites with generations of young readers.JO HANKS: When I first found out that there could potentially be another tale, I think itForgotten Beatrix Potter Tale Of 'Kitty-In-Boots' To Be Publishedhttp://wuot.org/post/lost-beatrix-potter-story-kitty-boots-be-published
43794 as http://wuot.orgTue, 26 Jan 2016 22:08:00 +0000Forgotten Beatrix Potter Tale Of 'Kitty-In-Boots' To Be PublishedPetra MayerThe free-speech organization PEN American Center says it is giving its 2016 PEN/Allen award to author J.K. Rowling. The prize honors "a critically acclaimed author whose work embodies its mission to oppose repression in any form and to champion the best of humanity."In particular, the award recognizes Rowling's two charitable foundations — Volant, which works to alleviate poverty and social deprivation, especially among women and children, and Lumos, which helps institutionalized children return to family life.Rowling is a frequent target of censorship. In 2006, the American Library Association named her the most challenged author of the 21st century."I'm deeply honored to receive this award and humbled that my work has been recognized as having moral value by an organization I so admire," Rowling told The Associated Press."Through her writing, Rowling engenders imagination, empathy, humor, and a love of reading, along the way revealing moral choices that help us better understandPEN American Center Awards Free-Speech Prize To J.K. Rowling http://wuot.org/post/pen-american-center-awards-free-speech-prize-jk-rowling
43744 as http://wuot.orgMon, 25 Jan 2016 19:20:00 +0000PEN American Center Awards Free-Speech Prize To J.K. Rowling Petra MayerThe most prestigious prizes in American children's books were given out this morning: the John Newbery Medal for literature and the Randolph Caldecott Medal for illustration.Matt de la Peña becomes the first Hispanic author to win the Newbery, for his book Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson. It's the story of a young boy riding the city bus with his grandmother, and wondering why their family doesn't have a car."The inclusion of diverse literature is so important to me," he tells NPR's Lynn Neary. "I've been doing this for ten years, writing diverse characters, and I just want to honor every Hispanic writer who's come before me."The main characters in Last Stop on Market Street happen to be African American, but De La Peña says the book is not about race. It has a simple lesson: "You can feel like you have been slighted if you are growing up without, if you have less money, or you can see the beauty in that. And I feel like the most important thing that's'Last Stop On Market Street' Wins Newbery Medal, 'Finding Winnie' Takes Caldecotthttp://wuot.org/post/last-stop-market-street-wins-newbery-medal-finding-winnie-takes-caldecott
43221 as http://wuot.orgMon, 11 Jan 2016 18:33:00 +0000'Last Stop On Market Street' Wins Newbery Medal, 'Finding Winnie' Takes CaldecottPetra MayerWe get so many books in the mail — hundreds every week — that we can't read them all, and sometimes all we can do with a book is say hey, that looks interesting, and file it away on the shelf.That's what happened to Anita Anand's book Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, which was definitely the One That Got Away from me this year. I put it aside with vague good intentions, and then I forgot about it — until Princess Sophia ended up in the news.When the movie Suffragette came out in October, critics noticed something off: The film's struggling women were all white. In fact, one of the most important women in the suffragette movement was an Indian princess, Sophia Duleep Singh. But she didn't make an appearance in the movie."Suddenly there was this sort of tidal wave of outrage from people who were saying, why wasn't she in the movie?" says Anand. "So my first response was, why are you so angry? You hadn't heard about her until fairly recently."Anand herself knew nothing aboutWith 'Sophia,' A Forgotten Suffragette Is Back In The Headlineshttp://wuot.org/post/sophia-forgotten-suffragette-back-headlines
42871 as http://wuot.orgThu, 31 Dec 2015 23:22:00 +0000With 'Sophia,' A Forgotten Suffragette Is Back In The HeadlinesPetra MayerMarlon James has won this year's Man Booker literary award for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. James is the first Jamaican-born author to win the prestigious prize, which has only been open to writers outside the British Commonwealth for the past two years.The prize made headlines earlier this year when organizers announced a longlist that included five Americans, up from four last year. Two of them made the final list — Anne Tyler, for A Spool of Blue Thread, and bookmakers' favorite Hanya Yanagihara, for A Little Life — but the night belonged to James.A Brief History is based on a real-life assassination attempt on reggae star Bob Marley in 1976. Michael Wood, chair of the judging panel, called it the most exciting book on this year's list, but, he added, "It is not an easy read. It is a big book. There is some tough stuff and there is a lot of swearing but it is not a difficult book to approach."NPR reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin also warns readers to be prepared:... it isMarlon James Wins Man Booker Prizehttp://wuot.org/post/marlon-james-wins-man-booker-prize
39833 as http://wuot.orgTue, 13 Oct 2015 22:07:00 +0000Marlon James Wins Man Booker PrizePetra MayerCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: There was no love for puppies at this weekend's Hugo Awards. The sad puppies are a group who say the fan-chosen science fiction and fantasy awards have become too liberal and inclusive, so they nominated their own slate of candidates. And as NPR's Petra Mayer reports, Hugo voters had other ideas.PETRA MAYER, BYLINE: Over the past few years, more Hugo awards have been going to women and writers of color. The sad puppies - mostly white, mostly male - came together as a backlash. Right now it's relatively easy to get a work on the Hugo ballot, so the puppy slate pretty much took over this year, causing months of controversy. But when it came time to hand out the iconic silver rocket ship trophies on Saturday night, Hugo voters chose to give no award in five puppy-packed categories, including best novella and best short story.The night's big winner was Chinese author Liu Cixin, whose book "The Three Body Problem" was the first'Sad Puppies' Fail To Stuff Ballot Box At Hugo Awardshttp://wuot.org/post/sad-puppies-fail-stuff-ballot-box-hugo-awards
37783 as http://wuot.orgMon, 24 Aug 2015 20:37:00 +0000'Sad Puppies' Fail To Stuff Ballot Box At Hugo AwardsPetra MayerCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: If you're looking for a good science-fiction or fantasy book, you might look for the distinctive rocket ship logo of the Hugo Award. It's one of the most prestigious prizes in the genre. More women, writers of color have been winning Hugos lately, and that's caused a backlash from a group of mostly white male writers and fans. They call themselves the Sad Puppies. NPR's Petra Mayer reports on how this year's rocket ship is getting dented.PETRA MAYER, BYLINE: The issue, according to the Puppies, this system is biased. The nominations are controlled by cliques who are more interested in social justice checklists than good, old-fashioned space ships and Martian princesses. Here's author and Sad Puppy, Brad Torgersen, speaking to the podcast Adventures in SciFi Publishing back in March.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)BRAD TORGERSEN: It became plainly obvious, especially after 2010, that a lot of the classic works of the old days As More Women, Minorities Win Hugos, 'Sad Puppies' Blast Sci-Fi Awardshttp://wuot.org/post/more-women-minorities-win-hugos-sad-puppies-blast-sci-fi-awards
37608 as http://wuot.orgWed, 19 Aug 2015 20:59:00 +0000As More Women, Minorities Win Hugos, 'Sad Puppies' Blast Sci-Fi AwardsPetra MayerThis summer, NPR is getting crafty in the kitchen. As part of Weekend Edition's Do Try This At Home series, chefs are sharing their cleverest hacks and tips — taking expensive, exhausting or intimidating recipes and tweaking them to work in any home kitchen.This week: Making delicious, fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs in only about an hour — with a surprising piece of kitchen equipment.The ChefShirlé Koslowski lives in a funky Baltimore rowhouse that bears witness to her other career as the bassist in a succession of indie bands. (You can see her rocking out with Free Electric State here.) But she's also the owner of Four Corners Cuisine, a personal chef and catering service. And that means she has to make tasty food, fast.The Hard WayNormally, ribs have to cook for three or four hours, low and slow in the oven or on the grill (or both, depending on how elaborate your recipe is). Whichever method you go with, it's a long, hot, tiring process.The Hack"I am going to show you guys how toDo Try This At Home: Hacking Ribs — In The Pressure Cookerhttp://wuot.org/post/do-try-home-hacking-ribs-pressure-cooker
35530 as http://wuot.orgSun, 28 Jun 2015 11:51:00 +0000Do Try This At Home: Hacking Ribs — In The Pressure CookerPetra MayerUpdated at 2:30 p.m. ETThe protest over a free speech award to Charlie Hebdo continues to grow.Earlier this week, six authors withdrew from the PEN American Center's annual gala in response to the organization's decision to give the French satirical magazine its Freedom of Expression Courage Award.Former PEN American President Francine Prose was one of the original six. She tells NPR that as of Thursday afternoon, she's been joined by nearly 150 other writers — such as Junot Díaz, Lorrie Moore and Rick Moody — who've signed on to an open letter critical of the decision."It is clear and inarguable that the murder of a dozen people in the Charlie Hebdo offices is sickening and tragic," the letter reads. "What is neither clear nor inarguable is the decision to confer an award for courageous freedom of expression on Charlie Hebdo, or what criteria, exactly, were used to make that decision."It continues:"Power and prestige are elements that must be recognized in considering almost any formDozens Of Writers Join Protest Of Free Speech Award For 'Charlie Hebdo'http://wuot.org/post/more-90-writers-join-protest-free-speech-award-charlie-hebdo
33160 as http://wuot.orgThu, 30 Apr 2015 15:18:00 +0000Dozens Of Writers Join Protest Of Free Speech Award For 'Charlie Hebdo'Petra MayerFantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett was prolific: He wrote more than 70 books, dozens of them about the Discworld — a flat planet borne through space by four elephants on the back of a giant turtle. Pratchett died Thursday at age 66. He had been suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.Pratchett was no stranger to death. The big guy with the scythe and the booming voice was a constant and vital presence in the Discworld books and their screen adaptations. "HUMAN BEINGS MAKE LIFE SO INTERESTING," Death says in Pratchett's 1996 book Hogfather, and while it's Death speaking there in his characteristic capitals, that one sentence sums up what was marvelous about Pratchett: He found human beings so interesting.Few writers were as insightful and just plain good as Pratchett was at winkling out all the secret scraps of human nature and then disguising them as broad comic fantasy."He really had the gift of making fun of human foolishness without being cruel," says fantasy author DeliaAuthor Terry Pratchett Was No Stranger To Deathhttp://wuot.org/post/author-terry-pratchett-was-no-stranger-death
31138 as http://wuot.orgThu, 12 Mar 2015 21:29:00 +0000Author Terry Pratchett Was No Stranger To DeathPetra MayerThis afternoon, millions of fez-wearing fans around the world will tune in to a very special episode of Doctor Who. The venerable British sci-fi series turns 50 today — though the time traveling alien Doctor himself is probably somewhere on the wrong side of 1,000.From scrappy, low-budget beginnings (bubble-wrap monsters, anyone?), Doctor Who has become a global phenomenon. Only soap operas can match it for longevity and popularity. So what's the secret to the Doctor's appeal?Well, let's start with a ringtone — mine, to be exact. Call me, and my phone will play the famous grinding, screeching sound of the TARDIS taking off. That's Time and Relative Dimensions in Space for you non-fans — the Doctor's beloved bigger-on-the-inside time and space machine.Whenever that ringtone goes off, heads pop up all around me, and I know that everyone's thinking the same thing: he's come. He's finally come. For me.The Doctor is an ancient two-hearted alien from a long-dead far-off planet. He can goAllons-y! Why We've Been Traveling With 'Doctor Who' For 50 Yearshttp://wuot.org/post/allons-y-why-weve-been-traveling-doctor-who-50-years
11387 as http://wuot.orgSat, 23 Nov 2013 09:21:00 +0000Allons-y! Why We've Been Traveling With 'Doctor Who' For 50 YearsPetra MayerGo to your nearest paperback rack, and odds are, you'll see two or three, or four, or — well, a lot of books by Debbie Macomber, an author The Sacramento Bee has dubbed "the reigning queen of women's fiction."Macomber has 170 million books in print; the newest, Rose Harbor in Bloom, has just been released. Her publisher, Random House, celebrated Macomber's selling power earlier this month with a fan retreat at the Gaylord Opryland resort in Nashville, where 400 women gathered for a weekend of tea, knitting and literary friendship.They came from all over the country: Alabama, Missouri, Ohio, as far away as Vermont, and from right in Nashville. Hundreds of them; mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. And they were ready to party.Debbie Summers of California wore a teapot earring in one ear, and a cup on the other. Summers was there with her partners in crime, Barbara Cook, Janet Howland and Millie Thomas. All were festooned with tea-related accessories, because tea features prominentlyFans Are Like Friends To 'Reigning Queen' Of Women's Fictionhttp://wuot.org/post/reigning-queen-womens-fiction-holds-court-fan-retreat
6990 as http://wuot.orgSun, 18 Aug 2013 18:20:00 +0000Fans Are Like Friends To 'Reigning Queen' Of Women's Fiction